1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer software, and more particularly to insurance claim processing software.
2. Description of the Related Art
Insurance companies have been processing and settling claims associated with bodily injury for a long time. The task of evaluating, analyzing or estimating the amount of damage associated with one or more types of bodily injuries, especially trauma-induced bodily injuries, can be very complex. Complexity in the evaluation process often arises out of the fact that concurrent expertise in legal, medical and insurance fields is often required to arrive at a particular decision involving a bodily injury claim.
Several factors can affect the estimated amount of the claim associated with a bodily injury. Every accident is different and every injury is unique. Arriving at a customized evaluation of a bodily injury claim, which is unique for a specific accident, injury, etc. is desirable. Applying across-the-board standards may tend to result in an inequitable solution for one or more parties involved. External environmental factors, such as the experience level of a claims adjuster, record of accomplishment of the legal professionals, post-injury quality of life for the injured party, etc., all can affect the valuation of a claim.
During the past several years, many insurance companies have been using computer-based and knowledge-based claim-processing systems to process, evaluate, analyze and estimate thousands of claims in a fair and consistent manner. A knowledge-based claim-processing system includes an expert system which utilizes and builds a knowledge base to assist the user in decision making. It may allow the insurance companies to define new rules and/or use previously defined rules, in real-time. The business rules are generally written by industry experts to evaluate legal, medical, insurance conditions before arriving at a valuation of a claim.
In knowledge-based systems, to estimate a claim for bodily injury, the user may enter inputs on a display screen and step through a series of displays or screens to complete the data input process. This process may be referred to as a consultation session. The knowledge-based claim processing system may then utilize the user-provided inputs to generate a consultation report. The consultation report may include, for example, an estimate of a value of an insurance claim.
In the past, such knowledge-based systems for estimating the value of an insurance claim have been limited to traditional computing architectures such as mainframes and stand-alone personal computers. Therefore, it was necessary to install and maintain client software as well as server software for these knowledge-based systems in particular physical locations. With the growth of the Internet, however, many personal computers may now be granted client access to servers distributed all over the world.
It may therefore be desirable to develop a knowledge-based system for insurance claim processing which is configured to be accessed over the Internet. It may also be desirable to develop a knowledge-based system for insurance claim processing which is configured to be accessed through a web browser. It may be desirable to develop new business models for providing insurance companies with access to a web-based or internet-based insurance claim processing server.